Return A Stranger
by noisemaker
Summary: Mykalla Quince has returned to Chicago, and faces the many changes that have transpired over the years. There's some Carby, and Raylla, and Samka, and all sorts of nonsense. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1 Dear Diary

**Return a Stranger**

Summery: Mykalla Quince returns! Old friends, and new County folk return as Mykalla starts the next phase of her life. Both in and out of Chicago.

Notes: A sequel of sorts to "Enter a Stranger." I didn't like the direction that it was taking so I stopped writing it. But this is a flash forward, set in the future, but there will be flashbacks to help you set the stage. You don't have to have read EaS to understand what's going on, but it would sure help.

Disclaimer: Mykalla Quince is my own creation, and I own her. All names and characters of ER aren't mine and belong to Warner Brothers and Michael Crichton. And I make no money off of it. Although sometimes I wish I did.

Song lyrics are from "The Stranger" by Billy Joel.

"**Well we all have a face that we hide away forever  
****And we take them out and show ourselves  
****when everyone has gone  
****Some are satin some are steal  
****some are silk and some are leather  
****They're the faces of a stranger  
****but we love to try them on."**

_August 28th 2003  
__Dear Diary,  
__ A lot has happened over the past two years since I've written in you last. Mark was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and has since died. Elizabeth had a breakdown afterwards and moved to England for awhile. It was hard because I was in the middle of my junior year of high school, and all of a sudden I had nowhere to stay in Chicago. I had really started to call this place my home, you know? All of a sudden my brother is dead, my sister's in another country and I'm basically alone. Dave was awesome and took me in for awhile until Elizabeth returned from England. _

_ I left Chicago that July and returned to Jersey. Lizbet had quit County and was talking about moving to England permanently to be closer to Charles and Isabelle. It was harder than I thought it would have been to move back home. Me and Rob seemed to drift apart and broke up between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It would have been hard anyways, he was looking at going to college in Arizona on a baseball scholarship and things would have drifted eventually. But once I returned to school there was a lot changed. I wasn't nearly as accepted as I was before I moved. Most of my friends decided that I wasn't worth the time since I couldn't make up my mind where I wanted to be. _

_ I'm packing my bags now to head off to college. I move into the dorms tomorrow morning. It took my forever to finally decide where I wanted to be. I was accepted to both UConn and Northwestern into their Pre Med programs. I swear I must have waited to the day everything was due to finally make a decision. But now here I am on the verge of being a Huskie. Maybe I'll go to Northwestern for Med School. How great would it be to place into County and work my way through med school there. It would be just like old times again, well sort of. Many faces have changed already and I'm sure they will change more._

_ I must go finish packing, and it's time to put you into a box with the rest of my notebooks._

_Until later,  
__Mykalla Quince_

"**Don't be afraid to try again.  
Everyone goes south every now and then  
****You done it, why can't someone else?  
You should know by now  
****You've been there yourself."**

_October 14, 2005  
__Dear Diary,  
__Pre Med is harder than I ever thought that it could be. Look at the last date, the day before I started college. And now I write again, finally, more than two years into college. Once again things have changed immensely, and at times I'm not sure how to deal with it. I think that's why I finally sought you out again and pour my thoughts down on paper._

_ Remember when I said that Lizbet broke down after Mark died, well she hasn't gotten much better. She moved to England, I only talk to her once every few weeks, and have only seen her once since. She's "sick." I don't know how else to describe it. I'm worried about her so much but she has shut the world out. She's broken down a lot farther than I have ever seen a person break down. I'm afraid that I might have to move again to be with her, or at least to take care of Ella for awhile. I hate this juggling back and forth of living arrangements. It was great in the beginning when I choose to move to Chicago but being forced to move around isn't. _

_ I've been back to Chicago twice since, I went over spring break both freshman and sophomore year. It was awesome to see people like Dave, Carter, Luka, and Abby again. I missed them so much. It's sad to see people gone though too. I mean Dave's at Mercy now, but he's not at County where he should be, and Gallant isn't always there and Lizbet and Romano are gone. It's a whole different family. And where those have left there are those who have stepped up. Sam's awesome I love hanging out with her, its great to talk to someone closer to my age. Neela and Jake are… interesting, I guess is the right way to describe them. I haven't gotten to know them well enough. Ray is… Well, he's Ray. He's cute, annoying, and sarcastic. And if he weren't like eight years old than me I would definitely be interested. He is like Sam though, where I love hanging out with him, and it's so easy to talk to him. _

_ Other than that classes are going. They aren't easy, but they are interesting to say the least. I've gotten my heart more set on going to Med School at Northwestern. I miss Chicago and my County family. _

_Until later,  
__Mykalla_

"**You may never understand  
****how the stranger is inspired  
****But he isn't always evil,  
****and he isn't always wrong  
****Though you drown in good intentions  
****you will never quench the fire  
****You'll give in to your desires  
****When the stranger comes along."**

_May 16, 2007  
__Dear Diary,  
__Two years again? This is starting to become a pattern in the way I write. But I did it! I finally graduated college. With honors mind you. I was accepted at Northwestern into their Med School. So it's back to Chicago with me. There's not much keeping me here anymore. And I get to go back to my County family. _

_ I also want to move before Ella starts kindergarten. That's right; I'm Ella's guardian now. Lizbet died in November, of what I'm not sure. She had been mentally frustrated for so long, but Charles said it was an interaction with what she was taking. Personally, I don't think she could handle the pressure anymore; she had just broken down so far. She left me as Ella's guardian, which let me tell you is hard. Being in my last year of college and all of a sudden having a four year old to take care of was a struggle and a half. Luckily my roommate was good about helping baby-sit and the day care on campus took her sometimes while I was in class. Luckily Ella will be in kindergarten all day when I'm in class most of the time, and I know that people like Dave and Sam and hell, even Ray will help me out._

_ Speaking of Dave and Sam, they came out for my graduation, well Luka and Alex too obviously. It was great to have them there, my family was there, and then part of my County family as well. I can't believe I'm actually going to Med School in three months. It's exciting and frightening at the same time. I have some of the best doctors there to help me get through though, so that makes me feel a little more relieved._

_ I can't believe how much things have changed over the last five years. And somehow I have a feeling that it's only the beginning of what's going to change as med school goes on._

_Until later,  
__Mykalla_

End of Chapter 1. Hope you enjoy! Please read and review and tell me if I should keep this going ot chalk it up to a brief moment of creativity.


	2. Chapter 2 School Daze

**Return a Stranger  
Chapter 2: School Daze**

Summery: Mykalla Quince returns to Chicago to start the next stage of her life.  
Disclaimer: Mykalla is my own creation. All ER characters are property of Warner Brothers and Michael Crichton. And I make no money off of them. Although sometimes I wish I did.

Mykalla rolled over to the incessant buzzing of her alarm clock. She reached over to the night stand and slammed her hand down onto the offending noise. 7:00 am is way too early to be awake. She was about to roll over and go back to sleep, then realizing there was no room for stalling today. She had to get herself awake and then Ella ready for both of them to start their first day of school. Luckily for her, class didn't start till 9 am that morning, so she could take Ella to her first day of kindergarten.

Mike was about to get out of bed when a small bundle of red curls jumped onto her chest. "Anka, Anka," screamed Ella. (She had taken a habit of calling her Anka when she was younger and not able to say Aunt Mykalla) "Today is school!" She squealed bouncing slightly on Mykalla's lap. "I all dressed already." Ella had dressed herself in a purple jumper, but somehow missed two buttons in the middle so it was significantly lopsided.

"Yes you did," replied Mike, looking at her outfit. "But let me give you a hand and fix that." She undid the buttons and realigned them so that Ella's jumper lined up properly. "Now let's go get some breakfast so you can go to school, okay?"

"Okay," squealed Ella in return and bounded off the bed and out into the kitchen. Mykalla struggled out of bed and wandered out to follow the bouncing five year old. Ella had already found her box of cereal and dragged it out of the kitchen pantry. "Anka, I want cereal."

Mykalla grabbed the milk out of the fridge and helped Ella pour some into her bowl of cereal. "You going to be okay to eat breakfast out here love?" she asked. Ella nodded with a tooth milky grin. "I'm going to take a shower. You eat your breakfast and put the bowl in the sink."

Forty five minutes later, Ella was standing at the door to the apartment with her Pooh Bear backpack on waiting for Mykalla. "Come on, Anka, I'm going to be late." Mykalla finally comes out, grabs her keys off the table next to the door and shuffles Ella down the stairs. They walked the four blocks to Ella's school, and the once bouncing child has now become shy and withdrawn, attaching herself to Mike's leg.

The closer they get to the school the slower Ella walks, trying to fall behind but failing since she is attached to Mike. Finally Mike stopped walking and knelt down in front of her. "Ella, honey, what's a matter?" she asked the now, obviously frightened child, wiping the few random tears off her face. "I'm scared," she replied between sniffles. "I want Mommy!"

"Ooh, honey," she said pulling the child into a hug. "Mommy's not here anymore you know that, but she's watching you, okay. You don't have to worry about everything. You're going to have so much fun at school. And mommy will see you."

"Pwomise?" she asked.

"I promise kiddo, now where's that smile I saw this morning? You get to go to school." Although two tears rolling down her cheeks, Ella flashes a gap filled grin. They walked into the school building, Ella once again bouncing along ahead.

* * *

"Rotations won't start until spring semester. Most of you will be placed in County General, although due to the size of the class this year a few of you will have to be place at Mercy," droned on Professor Johansson at the front of the lecture hall. "You are suggested to do some observation work before we start the actual in hospital time. We will meet here every Monday morning at 8 am for your entire span of the program to discuss situations that arise in both observation and rotation." 

Mykalla stared aimlessly at the professor talking at the front of the classroom. It was only the first day of class and she was already mental organizing and freaking out about how she was going to have the time to do everything that was required for the classes and keep everything functioning normally around home. It was only the first day, and she already was relying on Abby to pick up Ella after school and watch her until she got of class for the day.

"So I expect all of you to come into this lecture on Monday with at least one experience to discuss involving something you observed over the past week. You are free to leave."

Mykalla gathered her things and tossed them all in her backpack before exiting the classroom. She had over two hours to kill before her next class, and figured maybe she should get a jump on this observation time that she needed to fulfill. She hoped the EL over to County to begin her observation. The first person she ran into when she came into the ER was Sam behind the admit desk. "Hey kid, what are you doing around here?"

"Observation hours. Figured I might as well get started on them while I have some spare time."

"So you get credit for hanging out here like you normally do," replied Sam laughing. "I should have gone to med school. I could do that for awhile."

"Yeah, well, I also have classes, homework, studying, and a five year old," she smirked back. "So I might be relying on your monster to play babysitter every now and again."

"Which one? Alex or Luka?"

"Probably Alex. But I should get to observing. I have to be back for class by one," she said dropping her backpack behind the desk and leaving the admit area. She wandered down the hall to find something to 'observe.'

* * *

"Raymond! Where is yous?" screamed Ella wandering through the apartment. "It's no fair you can't hide this well. It's not allowed." Ella stopped her search when she heard the front door open. She ran to the front door and grabbed hold of Mykalla's leg as she walked in. "ANKA!" 

"Hey, sweetheart," she replied putting her backpack down and picking up the child. "So why are wandering around here all by yourself."

"Cause Ray is hiding, I have to find him," Ella replied matter of factly. She squirmed out of Mike's arms and took off through the living room. "Help me find him so I win." Mykalla opened the door to the hall closet to drop her backpack in, and there was Ray sitting on the floor hidden behind a long coat. "So this is where you choose to lock yourself up," Mykalla asked, dropping her bag in. "And here I was going to yell at you for leaving her alone."

"Now do you think I would ever do that?" asked Ray sporting a fake hurt pout. "I only look irresponsible."

"I wouldn't go that far," she replied laughing. "You can come out of there if you like, ya know."

"And let Izzy win, never."

"Izzy, huh?" smirked Mike. "I can believe she lets you call her that. The only people she ever let call her that are Mark, and Charles…. Well I wouldn't want to ruin your competitive edge over a five year old." She closed the door to the closet before Ray could respond. "OH, Ella!"

To Be Continued

Please Read and Review. I want to know you like it before I keep it going some more.


	3. Chapter 3 Self Expression

**Return A Stranger  
Ch. 3 – Self Expression  
**Disclaimer- You know what goes here. I own nothing.

Mykalla walked into the ER two days later for the second round of her observation. This time Joelianne Millar joined her for the afternoon. Being the first week of classes the teachers were being especially easy on them, only assigning four chapters to read and study a night instead of the usually six to eight. Mykalla and Joelianne had found a common ground the day before, discussing their home areas before class. Joelianne had been a graduate of Drexel University's Pre Med program and was originally from Pennsylvania. They decided to try to do their observation rounds together in attempts to get them done quicker and be able to discuss them equally.

When they walked into the lounge to deposit their backpacks, they came across Carter and Abby sitting on the couch kissing. Mykalla cleared her throat to announce their presence, causing the couple to break apart. Both tried to make themselves presentable, and separated quickly. "Mike, sorry I had to run off the other night," said Abby trying to change the attention away from her and Carter's previous events. "They got slammed here and needed me to come in. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. I know how this works, one day I'll be living this mess," replied Mykalla. "Oh yeah, this is Joelianne Millar," she said introducing her classmate. "Joelianne, that's Dr. Carter and Dr. Lockhart. Carter is an attending, and Abby's an intern. Well, we better start those observation rounds. Anything good out there?"

"Last I saw a few cases of a stomach bug that has been going around. A few leftovers from a stadium fight," replied Carter. "Nothing that interesting. Nice and quiet for you guys."

"Great," said Mykalla. "Quite is good for the actual rounds. We want something good for observations."

"You'll learn to appreciate the quiet days," he replied. "But maybe if you're lucky you'll get a nice MVC or something weird. You know how it can get around here."

"A circus," said Mykalla, Joelianne, and Abby at the same time.

* * *

Two hours later, Mykalla and Joelianne exited the trauma room and headed back to the lounge to collect their things. "I hope you don't mind that I'm not heading home with you," said Mykalla throwing the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "I want to pick Ella up from school since I'm actually out in time to do so."

"It's no problem at all," replied Joelianne. They exited the hospital and stood at the bottom of the stairs to the El. "It's not that far to go anyways. Go get Ella. I'll see you in class tomorrow morning. Bright and early."

"Please don't remind me," replied Mykalla. "See you tomorrow." With that she headed up the stairs to the EL tracks as Joelianne walked down the block. The train ride to her stop was relatively short, and she exited the train and headed to two blocks to Ella's school. Ray was already waiting outside the school waiting for the bell to ring and let the children come scampering out. "Ray, you can go home if you want," she said coming up behind him. "I got it from here."

"Hey Mykalla," he said turning to face her. "I thought you asked me to pick her up?"

"Yeah I did," she replied. "But I got out of class early, and figured I should pick Ella up since I was out. I won't get to do this that often once things start to pick up more."

"Yeah I guess," he said, with a small hint of disappointment in his voice. "Do you still need me to pick her up tomorrow?"

"If you could. I know I'm not getting out of that class early. I'll be home early enough for you to have a life tomorrow night, I promise," she said with a small smile. "I never did thank you for watching Ella Monday night when Abby had to jet out of there. That was amazing, Ray. Thank you."

"It was nothing," he answered returning the smile to her. "She's an easy one to watch. I'll watch her any day if I never have to baby-sit Alex and Andrew again. Those two are terrors together."

"I can imagine. Now, didn't you say something about rehearsal tonight with the band or something?"

"Yeah," he replied checking his watch quickly. "We have a gig Friday night, which we need to finish practicing for. You should come, Mike. I'm sure Abby and Carter would love to watch Ella so you can enjoy yourself."

"I'd hate to rely on everyone more than I already do," she replied. Ray was looking at her with a pout on his face, trying to guilt her into giving in. Just then the bell rang and a crowd of children rushed out of the school towards the various cars and buses parked outside. Ella ran up to the two standing there and jumped up into Mykalla's arms. "You ready to go home, squirt?"

Ella responded with a nod and a toothy grin. "I thought Raymond was going to take me home today," she pleaded.

"I got out of class early, so I figured I would surprise you."

"Oh," replied Ella. "You mean he can't come over and play?"

"Tell you what kid," interjected Ray before Mykalla could answer. "I'll come over and play with you if your Aunt Mykalla agrees to come to my show on Friday night."

Now both Ella and Ray had a pleading pout on their faces directed at Mike. "Fine, I hate those looks. Fine put me down for two people. I'll bring Joelianne along."

* * *

Friday night rolled around far too quickly for Mykalla's liking. She hated to have to drop Ella off somewhere after her first week of school, but a promise was a promise. She was already dressed in jeans and a not too tight, but tight enough shirt. She had been to Self Expression since she had left Chicago five years earlier, and wasn't sure how much it had changed over the years. She was putting hair up in a half pony tail, when there was a knock on the front door. She got there just in time to intercept Ella from ripping it open. Mykalla peered through the look out and opened the door to let Joelianne in. "I'm almost ready," she led leading Joelianne into the living room. "Let me just put a touch of make-up on and then we're all set. I have to drop Ella off at Sam's and then we're all set."

"Take your time," replied Joelianne sitting down on the couch. "Ella and I are going to keep watching The Incredibles until you're ready." Five minutes later they were out the door and headed towards the Kovac apartment to drop off Ella.

By the time Mike and Joelianne got to Self Expression there already was a line to get in the door. Being on the band guest list, they jumped right to the front and were let in immediately. Average Jo's hadn't gone on yet, so they found a small table down near the open floor to sit and wait. The first two bands weren't that bad in Mykalla's opinion, and by the time it was Average Jo's turn to go on the club had filled up pretty well. Mike and Joelianne gave up their table to go up front as close to the stage as they possibly could.

They were still finished setting up the drum set when Mykalla felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to come face to face with Marissa Anderson. Both girls squealed in excitement and hugged each other. "When did you get back here," asked Rissa. "And why didn't you call us?"

"I just moved back a few weeks ago for Med School," replied Mykalla. "And I've been so busy getting unpacked and settled and everything that I have hardly had a spare moment. How's everything going?"

"Pretty well Marc and I are engaged," she answered with a big smile. "We're getting married in the spring."

"That's great!"

"Rob is in Georgia playing minor league ball. He got picked up by the Dodger in one of their farm teams. Amanda is a bitch still as usual. AJ went to school in Washington and is out in Seattle right now, and Jeff and Tish are just hanging around here. They're actually at a table in the back with Marc," she said pointed off into the corner. "I told them I though this was you so I came to figure it out."

"I'll have to stop by after the show," she said peering over to where Rissa had pointed. "I just want to make sure I talk to Ray when his set is done. I'll be over there in a bit."

"You better be," replied Rissa giving her a hug. "Otherwise we'll wait for you outside. And it won't be pretty," she joked.

To Be Continued  
Note: I don't know the name of Ray's band on the show. So I just used the name of Shane West's real band.


	4. Chapter 4 Carter Wedding

**Return A Stranger  
Chapter 4**

**Legal Notes:** The characters and locations are property of Warner Bros and I make no money off of them. I do however, own Mykalla and Joelianne, so you can't have them!

The school year progressed fairly normally, observations went smoothly on the whole and fall was working its way in with the normal sports injuries involved. Ella was starting to get excited at the prospect of Halloween which was now a little over two weeks away. She had found a way to connive Mykalla into going Trick or Treating with her, and forcing Ray to come along with them as they went around the neighborhood with Andrew, Joelianne's neighbor and Ella's new friend.

Mike was also anticipating a big event, but this one was much closer. She was going to Abby and Carter's wedding that afternoon with Ray, and Joelianne and Jake. Mike was worried about spending the whole afternoon with Ray without the pretenses of work or Ella involved. Sure, she would often attend some of his gigs at Self Expression, but usually Joelianne and Rissa and the rest of her friends would be there. This was going to be a different experience for the both of them, and she wasn't sure what was going to come of it.

The ceremony itself was breathtaking. The Carter family held nothing back from the flowers to the musicians, to the location itself. The reception was even more grandious, all by Elenor's insistence of course. The lawn of the mansion had been transformed into an amazing extravaganza. It was unike anything Mike or Ray had ever seen before. The buffet wazs spread out over four tables, covered with everything you could possibly think of. The Carter's had even booked The Fins to be the band for the reception.

Ray and Mike were seated at a table with Jake and Joelianne, Dave and Luka and Sam. They had spent the afternoon laughing at Dave's antics, dancing, and just enjoying each others company. Ray had even gathered enough courage to try to kiss Mike during one of the slow dances, but was interrupted by laughing at Dave acting like a fool again. Now Mike was sitting at the table with Joelianne as the rest of the table wandered around socializing with the other current and ex-County folk. In her purse, Mike's cellphone began to ring incessantly. She would have ignored it if it weren't for the fact that it was from the babysitter she had hired for Ella for the day.

Ray came back to the table just as a serious looking Mike hung up her cell phone. Finding her purse and jacket she stood to leave. "Hey, where are you going in such a rush?" asked Ray holding on to her. "Talk to me."

Mykalla tried to wiggle out of Ray's grasp, but it was no use. "I have to get to the hospital, Ella got stung by a bee at the park."

"Where are they taking her," he asked, knowing that Ella was highly allergic to bees.

"County," she replied pulling herself towards the door. "I have to go Ray. We'll talk later."

"We're coming with you," replied Joelianne who was now standing next to them. "You can't get there without a car, and you won't want to sit around by yourself and you know it."

Not wanting to argue with her best friend, and Ray, she gave up as she followed Ray to his van to head to County.

To Be Continued


End file.
